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Life and Significant Works of

Edith L. Tiempo
Mother of Philippine Literature

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Joshua Jim M. Beltran Ms. Via Czarina de Vera
Zymrah Vesta V. Zamora Professor in Contemporary Arts
ABM 22
 Edith L. Tiempo
Being a poet, fictionist, teacher and literary critic,
she is one of the finest Filipino writers in English whose
works are characterized by a remarkable fusion of style and
substance, craftsmanship and insight. Her poems are
intricate verbal transfigurations of significant experiences
as revealed, in two of her much anthologized pieces, “The
Little Marmoset” and “Bonsai”. As fictionist, Tiempo is as
morally profound as her language has been marked as
“descriptive but unburdened by scrupulous detailing.” She
is an influential tradition in Philippine literature in English.
Together with her late husband, she founded and directed
the Silliman National Writers Workshop in Dumaguete
City, which has produced some of the country’s best
writers (NCCA, n. d.).

Basic Information
• A Poet, Fiction Writer, Teacher and Literary Critic
• Born: April 22, 1919 in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
• Died: August 21, 2011
• Parents: Salvador Lopez and Teresa Cutaran
• Her family had to move frequently because of her father’s job (auditor for the government)

Early Life and Education

• High School : Bayombong
• College : Siliman University (BS Education, Magna Cum Laude)
• Pre-law : University of the Philippines
• International Fellowship : State of University of Iowa (1947-1950)
- Where she took part in the university’s creative writing workshop
- Received scholarship grant from United Board of Christian in Asia
• Doctorate Degree in English : University of Denver, Colorado (1958)

Personal Life and Career

• Husband : Mr. Edilberto K. Tiempo
• Children : Mr. Maldon Tiempo
Dr. Rowena Tiempo-Torrevillas
• 1962 : Started Siliman National Writers in Dumaguete City which were recognized as
the forerunners of literary criticism and theory in the Philippines
• 1964-1965 : Faculty member, Wartburg College at Iowa
• 1965-1966 : Teacher, Michigan University
• 1978-1979 : Teacher, Chinese University of Hongkong and Hongkong Baptist College

Awards
• 1978 : Elizabeth Luce Moore Distinguised Asian Professor Award
• 1979 : Cultural Center of the Philippines (First Prize in Novel)
• 1981-1989 : L.T Ruiz Professional Chair in English
• 1988 : Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas
• 1999 : National Artist Award for Literature
• Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature

Works
• Style and substance of craftsmanship and insights
• Poems are intricate verbal transfiguration of significant experiences
• Works in fiction are morally profound
• Language has been marked as “descriptive but unburdened by scrupulous detailing”
• One of the finest Filipino Writers in English

Notable Works:
Some of her works that gave a significant contribution in the field of literature and arts
are the following:

Novels
A Blade of Fern (1978)
This novel is in the tradition of the Romantic hero who runs
away from a society he rejects to seek regeneration in a deeply
natural environment. The story begins to unfold in the exotic
background of the little mining village of Nibucal in the southern
Philippines, giving its readers a panoramic vista of rural life and
problems of survival among miners prospecting for gold.
His Native Coast (1979)
It provides the reader a provocative and moving story of two
perspectives in regards to seeking one’s own identity, resulting in a
glimpse of self-recognition, the other in what turns out to be a refusal
of it. The novel attempts a definition of personal and national identity
that transcends geographical origins, giving an insight of forging a
healthy sense of belonging in reflection to this context. It also
showcases that among the western-influenced developing nations,
this Philippine experience offers its own unique insight.

The Builder (2004)

An intriguing story, the novel starts in Mr. Felix Acuna, a
professor in Physics in the university town of Dumaguete. As he
ends his class one morning, he is being jolted into the daylight
violence across the street, making his life to begin with a detective
purpose. This thrills into a challenge about putting his own life to a
standstill when he must build a house while awaiting the birth of his
firstborn. Its essence captures the reality of characters involved—
their surprising moral ambiguities and the sundry details of lives that
cannot be put on hold even for a criminal investigation.

The Alien Corn (1992) One, Tilting Leaves (1995)

Poems
Lament for the Littlest Fellow
The littlest fellow was a marmoset.
He held the bars and blinked his old man’s eyes.
You said he knew us, and took my arms and set
My fingers around the bars, with coaxing mimicries
Of squeak and twitter. “Now he thinks you are
Another marmoset in a cage.” A proud denial.
Set you to laughing, shutting back a question far
Into my mind, something enormous and final.
The question was unasked but there is an answer.
Sometimes in your sleeping face upon the pillow,
I would catch our own little truant unaware;
He had fled from our pain and the dark room of our rage,
But I would snatch him back from yesterday and tomorrow.
You wake, and I bruise my hands on the living cage.

As simple as it is, the story of the poem gives us the idea on the difficult times that people
face in a relationship, especially in terms of superiority and power in each other. Given its
importance, it is indeed a crucial role for us to examine and reflect about our way to interact with
others, as it will bear significance to our responsibilities as a man or as a woman.

Bonsai
All that I love It’s utter sublimation,
I fold over once A feat, this heart’s control
And once again Moment to moment
And keep in a box To scale all love down
Or a slit in a hollow post To a cupped hand’s size
Or in my shoe.
Till seashells are broken pieces
All that I love? From God’s own bright teeth,
Why, yes, but for the moment- And life and love are real
And for all time, both. Things you can run and
Something that folds and keeps easy, Breathless hand over
Son’s note or Dad’s one gaudy tie, To the merest child
A roto picture of a queen,
A blue Indian shawl, even
A money bill.
 The poem “Bonsai” requires its readers to further understand the message it tries to
convey to them. As it generally talks about love, the story implies the significant and intricate
relationship between a mother to her children, handing the love and care that she is willing to
sacrifice to them. In other perspectives, it also shows the unconditional love God has given to us
in some of its lines.
Short Stories

Abide, Joshua, and Other Short Stories (1964)

Other Writings

An Edith Tiempo Reader Six Poetry Formats and the Transforming Image:
A Monograph on Free Verse (2008)
Shared by five eminent writers in its
This work is intended to be a
editorial work and checked by the author
national collection of Philippine riddles--a
herself, it offers a compact and portable
putting together of available collections of
collection of works in literary canon of one of
riddles from all over the country, from
the most distinguished writers of Philippine
Batanes to Jolo.
literature.
 Six Filipino Poets (1955)
 Tracks of Babylon and Other Poems (1966)
 The Charmer’s Box and Other Poems (1993)
 Marginal Annotations and Other Poems (2001)
 Six Uses of Fictional Symbols (2004)

References

National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA): Edith L. Tiempo (n. d.). Retrieved March 3,
2019 from <http://gwhs-stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2nccagovph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-
profile/national-artists-of-the-philippines/edith-l-tiempo/>.

Ventenilla, B. (2017). Prezi.com: Edith L. Tiempo. Retrieved March 3, 2019 from

<https://prezi.com/pxkaajmoa54p/edithtiempo/?fbclid=IwAR0AGvCtZ4EgoV1fz3ZvSfC
DU5pbIKCTAZy4BM5BWhvEgM6S_8nyyuoY8>.